Recaps

The Crown Prince teased Shen Yangge before five assassins attacked them in the Eastern Palace. The Crown Prince killed one attacker, and Shen Yangge taunted the remaining four while clinging to him.

• The Crown Prince held Shen Yangge’s foot and called him catlike, while Shen Yangge worried that he had discovered his secret.
• System 615 noted that the Crown Prince should have been suffering an episode and that his beloved palace maid would likely return to the inner chambers soon.
• An assassin plunged a sword toward the bed, and the Crown Prince swept Shen Yangge into his arms as five attackers surrounded them.
• Shen Yangge clung to the Crown Prince as the assassins declared that they intended to kill the Crown Prince and take Shen Yangge.
• The Crown Prince killed one assassin with a dagger, and Shen Yangge taunted the four survivors.

Shen Yangge and the Crown Prince survived an assassin attack, but the Crown Prince bit Shen Yangge’s neck, prompting Shen Yangge to bite him back and trigger a characterization penalty. As the punishment countdown ended, Shen Yangge fled to use the privy, with the Crown Prince following him.

• The Crown Prince killed several assassins who attacked them, becoming especially vicious after one cut Shen Yangge’s neck.
• The remaining four assassins fled, but the Crown Prince activated a hidden mechanism that shot arrows and killed them.
• The Crown Prince bit Shen Yangge’s neck, and Shen Yangge fought back by biting the Crown Prince’s ear, triggering a system warning and penalty countdown.
• Shen Yangge reminded himself to stay in character and asked to use the privy while waiting for the penalty.
• With only seconds left before the punishment, Shen Yangge ran for the door, and the Crown Prince followed him.

Shen Yangge suffered a fifteen-day skin hunger punishment that made him struggle to breathe unless someone held his hand. The Crown Prince kept him close and insisted he use the toilet in his bedchamber, leaving Shen Yangge unable to relieve himself in private.

• System 615 told Shen Yangge that his skin hunger punishment required him to find someone to hold hands with or risk suffocating.
• The Crown Prince caught Shen Yangge by the wrist, easing his symptoms, and declared that Shen Yangge belonged to him.
• The Crown Prince led Shen Yangge back to his bedchamber and ordered him to use the toilet there.
• Shen Yangge refused and made excuses, but the Crown Prince offered to help and said he would wait outside.
• Shen Yangge began to relieve himself behind the screen, then spotted the Crown Prince still standing just beyond it.

Shen Yangge’s skin-hunger punishment struck again, forcing the Crown Prince to catch and comfort him before summoning Physician Liu. The Crown Prince refused Shen Yangge’s request for leave and ordered him to remain within sight; at dawn, Yong Guanghui arrived with Imperial Guards to escort Shen out, and the Crown Prince challenged his authority.

• Shen Yangge nearly suffocated after relieving himself, and the Crown Prince caught him and brought him to bed.
• The Crown Prince summoned Physician Liu, but Shen Yangge insisted he was well and the physician left without understanding the problem.
• Shen Yangge asked for time off, but the Crown Prince refused and warned him not to leave his sight.
• Yong Guanghui arrived with Imperial Guards to escort Shen Yangge out of the Eastern Palace, and the Crown Prince demanded to know who had authorized him.

Shen Yangge left the palace for his family home with the Crown Prince, who insisted on accompanying him. There, Shen Mother planned to reclaim the family businesses from Shen Zhi, and the next morning Shen Yangge realized he had apparently shared a bed with the Crown Prince again.

• Shen Yangge asked to leave the palace, and the Crown Prince agreed only on the condition that he would go with him.
• Shen Yangge returned to the Shen residence with the Crown Prince, where Shen Mother tearfully welcomed him.
• Shen Mother told Shen Yangge she planned to reclaim the Jinxiu Xian Tian Fragrance House and Dragon Silk Workshop from Shen Zhi, and Shen Yangge offered to accompany her.
• The next morning, Shen Yangge woke to find the Crown Prince beside his bed and suspected they had shared it overnight.
• System 615 explained that a database problem had kept it from reminding Shen Yangge about his Skin Hunger Syndrome.

Shen Yangge returned to the Shen Residence with the Crown Prince to demand Shen Mother's dowry, and confronted Shen Zhi's wife at the gates. After a little girl named Ming Yan kissed his cheek, the jealous Crown Prince cornered him in the corridor.

• Shen Yangge brought Shen Mother and the Crown Prince to the Shen Residence and demanded the return of her dowry and its accumulated income.
• Shen Zhi's wife insulted Shen Mother, so the disguised Crown Prince held a sword to her neck and wounded her before they entered the residence.
• While Shen Yangge waited for Shen Zhi, Ming Yan climbed onto his lap and kissed his cheek.
• The Crown Prince's jealousy darkened his expression, and he later pinched Shen Yangge's cheek and asked whether Ming Yan's lips had been soft.

Shen Yangge and the Crown Prince fought before Shen Mother confronted Shen Zhi over the family’s treatment of her and demanded control of her businesses. The chapter ended with Shen Yangge challenging Shen Zhi to face an investigation by the emperor.

• The Crown Prince bit Shen Yangge’s cheek, and Shen Yangge grabbed his hair until Shen Zhi’s voice interrupted them.
• Shen Zhi insulted Shen Mother and Shen Yangge, but Shen Mother stood up to him and declared she would never return to the Shen Residence.
• Shen Mother demanded the deeds and control of the Jinxiu Xian Tian Fragrance House and the Dragon Silk Workshop in Capital City.
• Shen Zhi refused to give up the businesses and tried to slap Shen Yangge, who knocked his hand aside.
• Shen Yangge threatened to take the dispute to the Government Office or the emperor and reminded Shen Zhi that the Crown Prince had given him his official post.

The Crown Prince revealed his identity and stopped Shen Zhi from having Shen Yangge and the others seized. He punished Shen Zhi by taking his family’s businesses and ordering them to leave their residence, which he gave to Shen Zhuanxie.

• Shen Zhi ordered his guards to seize Shen Mother, Shen Yangge, and the others, but Shen Yangge claimed the Crown Prince was among them.
• Shen Zhi accused the veiled man of impersonating the Crown Prince and pointed a sword at him.
• The Crown Prince revealed himself, made Shen Zhi and the guards kneel, and accused them of deceiving the sovereign.
• The Crown Prince threatened to send Shen Zhi’s entire family to Lingnan, and Shen Zhi offered up his businesses to escape that fate.
• The Crown Prince claimed the Jinxiu Xian Tian Fragrance House and Dragon Silk Workshop, ordered Shen Zhi’s family to pack, and gave their residence to Shen Zhuanxie.

After the Crown Prince seized control of the Shen Residence, Shen Yangge and Shen Mother took charge of its accounts while Shen Zhi secretly waited for the prince to leave. On the journey to the palace, the Crown Prince admitted he could not stand Shen Yangge getting close to others, leaving Shen Yangge to assume it was jealousy over a kiss.

• The Crown Prince humiliated the Shen Residence women who had defied him, while Shen Zhi stayed silent and Shen Susu fled to send a letter about marrying Yun.
• Soldiers surrounded the Shen Residence, and the Crown Prince ordered its account books handed to Shen Yangge as the new master of the household.
• Shen Yangge discovered he could not read the accounts, so Shen Mother checked them and agreed to manage the household's affairs.
• Shen Zhi glared at Shen Yangge and Shen Mother and secretly anticipated the Crown Prince's departure, but the prince noticed his calculating look.
• The Crown Prince and Shen Yangge traveled to the palace after the guards were killed and the crying woman's face was slashed.
• The Crown Prince asked why he had bitten Shen Yangge, then said he could not stand seeing him get close to others; Shen Yangge promised to keep his distance and guessed the prince disliked someone else kissing him.

Shen Yangge learned that Chu Xuanzhen would take him on a dangerous journey to Lingnan, where the Crown Prince promised his mother he would keep him safe. During a rest on the road, Shen Yangge discovered that Chu Xuanzhen was also bringing Shen Zhi and the Shen family along for punishment.

• After securing the emperor's agreement to punish Shen Zhi, Chu Xuanzhen ordered supplies prepared for the journey to Lingnan.
• Chu Xuanzhen told Shen Yangge he would accompany him to Lingnan, then went with him to inform Mother Shen and promised she would not lose her son while he lived.
• Mother Shen warned Shen Yangge about Lingnan's famine, bandits, local tyrants, and plague, but accepted that the royal command could not be refused.
• When they departed, Chu Xuanzhen told Shen Yangge to use his name outside the capital, and Shen Yangge nervously called him Chu Xuanzhen.
• At a roadside stop, Shen Yangge saw Shen Zhi and the Shen family traveling with them; Chu Xuanzhen clarified that they had been spared death, not punishment.

Shen Yangge suffered another attack of his strange illness during the night camp and found relief by grabbing Chu Xuanzhen’s hand. After Shen Yangge gave a vague explanation, Chu Xuanzhen ordered him to stay by his side at all times.

• Chu Xuanzhen examined the lingering bite mark on Shen Yangge’s cheek and rubbed it with his thumb.
• At the camp, Song Lianrong argued with Shen Rongfei while Shen Zhi blamed Shen Yangge for ruining his plans and vowed to get rid of him.
• Shen Yangge roasted meat by the fire while Chu Xuanzhen watched from his carriage.
• Shen Yangge’s illness returned, and he rushed to Chu Xuanzhen, grasping his hand to stop his discomfort.
• Chu Xuanzhen asked Shen Yangge what illness he had, and Shen Yangge claimed he needed more contact with people to recover.
• Chu Xuanzhen told Shen Yangge to remain by his side at all times.

During the journey to Lingnan, Chu Xuanzhen stole Shen Yangge’s food, made him trim a black gauze hat, and saved him from an assassin’s attack. After returning bloodied from fighting the attackers, Chu Xuanzhen pulled Shen Yangge into his arms, leaving Shen to fear the Crown Prince’s post-killing madness.

• Chu Xuanzhen ate Shen Yangge’s last pastry, then asked him to trim a black gauze hat and gave it to him to wear while traveling.
• A black-clad attacker dragged Shen Yangge out through the carriage window, but Chu Xuanzhen pulled him back and kicked the attacker away.
• Chu Xuanzhen ordered Shen Yangge to stay in the carriage, then went into the night to fight the attackers.
• Chu Xuanzhen returned with blood on his clothes and asked Shen Yangge about his condition.
• Chu Xuanzhen suddenly pulled Shen Yangge into his arms, and Shen worried that the Crown Prince had become mentally unstable after killing people.

Chu Xuanzhen bit Shen Yangge’s neck, then led him toward the river to wash off the blood on their clothes. On the dark path, Shen Yangge tore his trouser leg and underdrawers after getting them caught on something, leaving him stunned and exposed.

• Chu Xuanzhen restrained Shen Yangge, bit his neck, and insisted he repay the kindness he had received.
• Chu Xuanzhen led Shen Yangge out of the carriage to wash up by the river because their clothes were stained with blood.
• Shen Yangge followed Chu Xuanzhen through the dark woods and nearly stepped into empty air.
• Shen Yangge’s trouser leg caught on something, and he tore half of it and part of his underdrawers while trying to pull free.

Shen Yangge narrowly escaped a wolf attack when Chu Xuanzhen killed the animal with a precise sword strike. Chu Xuanzhen took Shen Yangge to the river to wash, but his intense concern and attempt to inspect him left Shen Yangge fearing he would be tormented again.

• Shen Yangge froze when a wolf caught his torn trouser leg, and Chu Xuanzhen killed it with a sword before it could attack him.
• Chu Xuanzhen checked Shen Yangge for injuries, then summoned and dismissed the hidden guard who had failed to spot the wolf.
• Shen Yangge noticed that the wolf and hidden guard had vanished, then followed Chu Xuanzhen to the river.
• Chu Xuanzhen tried to undo Shen Yangge's clothes, but Shen Yangge stopped him and insisted on washing by himself.
• Shen Yangge washed in the river with his clothes partly on and worried that Chu Xuanzhen would keep finding new ways to torment him.

Shen Yangge tried to keep Chu Xuanzhen at a distance while bathing with him, mistakenly taking Chu Xuanzhen’s questions about marriage as friendly concern. After Shen Yangge scrubbed Chu Xuanzhen’s back with a torn trouser leg, Chu Xuanzhen pulled him close and warned him not to stray because dangers still lurked nearby.

• Shen Yangge bathed in the river and tried to avoid Chu Xuanzhen’s attention, but Chu Xuanzhen grabbed his shoulder and asked what sort of person he liked.
• Shen Yangge said he would marry a woman he liked, and Chu Xuanzhen told him to let him vet her when the time came.
• Shen Yangge offered to scrub Chu Xuanzhen’s back while privately hoping to build goodwill and eventually get himself killed.
• Shen Yangge scrubbed Chu Xuanzhen with a torn trouser leg, then panicked and backed away when he realized what he had used.
• Chu Xuanzhen seized Shen Yangge’s wrist, pulled him close, and warned him not to stray because dangers remained nearby.

After Shen Yangge lost his boots in the river, Chu Xuanzhen carried him back to the carriage. Shen Yangge fell asleep in Chu Xuanzhen’s arms, and Chu Xuanzhen secretly kissed him.

• Shen Yangge scrubbed himself clean in the river, then saw the bodies downstream and worried that Chu Xuanzhen might eventually kill him.
• Shen Yangge accidentally let his boots drift away in the current and was left barefoot.
• Chu Xuanzhen caught Shen Yangge when he stumbled, then carried him after the grit cut his feet.
• Chu Xuanzhen carried the sleeping Shen Yangge through a swarm of fireflies and kissed his lips and nose.

Chu Xuanzhen discovered that Shen Yangge had a high fever and cared for him through the night, even learning acupuncture from Physician Liu. Shen Yangge woke in Chu Xuanzhen’s arms with little memory of what had happened, while System 615 remained under repair.

• Chu Xuanzhen carried the unconscious Shen Yangge into the carriage and realized he had a fever.
• Chu Xuanzhen held Shen Yangge and cooled him with wet cloths while Physician Liu instructed him in acupuncture.
• Physician Liu said Shen Yangge should rest until dawn before taking medicinal broth, and Chu Xuanzhen stayed by him through the night.
• Shen Yangge woke in Chu Xuanzhen’s arms and tried to recall the previous night, but remembered little.
• Shen Yangge questioned System 615, which only repeated that it was undergoing repairs.

Shen Yangge woke from a fever in Chu Xuanzhen’s arms and tried to understand the Crown Prince’s unusually personal care. After feeding him medicine, Chu Xuanzhen insisted on helping him relieve himself, leaving Shen Yangge alarmed about what he might want.

• Shen Yangge woke in Chu Xuanzhen’s lap and thanked him for looking after him, but Chu Xuanzhen refused to let him get down.
• Shen Yangge noticed faint teeth marks on his hands and wondered whether he had bitten himself while unconscious.
• Chu Xuanzhen covered Shen Yangge with a gauze hat whenever someone approached, explaining that his fever meant he should not see anyone.
• Chu Xuanzhen fed Shen Yangge bitter medicinal food and wiped medicine from his chin.
• When Shen Yangge said he needed to relieve himself, Chu Xuanzhen insisted on helping him, and Shen Yangge feared the Crown Prince’s intentions.

Shen Yangge traveled with Chu Xuanzhen while recovering from a fever, struggling to keep his distance despite the Skin Hunger Syndrome forcing them together. After reaching an inn near Lingnan, they booked a room for two, and System 615 returned from its upgrade.

• Chu Xuanzhen gave Shen Yangge medicine and clothes, watched him dress, and kept him from opening the carriage window while he was still recovering.
• When the carriage jolted, Chu Xuanzhen caught Shen Yangge and helped him sit beside him to satisfy the Skin Hunger Syndrome.
• After five or six more days of travel, Shen Yangge and Chu Xuanzhen reached a border town near Lingnan.
• Chu Xuanzhen made Shen Yangge wear the black gauze hat and paid for a room for two at the inn.
• System 615 returned and explained that it had cleared its data and upgraded rather than broken down.

Shen Yangge tried to avoid sharing a bed with Chu Xuanzhen at the inn, but Chu Xuanzhen kept him close. When Shen Yangge reached out to manage his skin hunger syndrome, Chu Xuanzhen pulled him into his arms and bit his neck, leaving Shen Yangge flustered and eager to escape.

• Shen Yangge suggested sleeping on the floor, but Chu Xuanzhen took the only quilt to the bed and stopped him from asking the innkeeper for another.
• Chu Xuanzhen refused to let Shen Yangge explore town until he woke, so Shen Yangge stayed by the bed and waited for night.
• System 615 told Shen Yangge that sharing a bed with the male lead could help protect him from an assassin.
• Shen Yangge reached to touch the sleeping Chu Xuanzhen, but Chu Xuanzhen caught him, pulled him into his arms, and bit his neck.
• Shen Yangge urged Chu Xuanzhen to get up for food, then bolted from the room and drew a startled look from the waiter.

Shen Yangge traveled with Chu Xuanzhen toward Lingnan, frustrated by Chu’s orders and worried about his Skin Hunger Syndrome. When their party reached the Yong'an mountain stronghold, an enemy attack sent the carriage careening into chaos.

• Chu Xuanzhen ordered Shen Yangge to keep his face hidden, made him finish his meal, and told him to stay in the carriage at Yong'an.
• Chu Xuanzhen burned a secret letter and warned Shen Yangge that he would return before Shen’s condition flared up.
• The party reached Yong'an, where the Mountain Bandits controlled the surrounding routes and demanded payment from travelers.
• As Shen Yangge’s Skin Hunger Syndrome neared its next flare-up, System 615 suggested he call someone into the carriage.
• Before Shen Yangge could lift the curtain to call for help, someone shouted that enemies were attacking, and the jolting carriage was swept into the fleeing chaos.

Shen Yangge was mistaken for the Crown Prince, kidnapped by bandits, and forced into a wedding with their second chief. Chu Xuanzhen appeared in disguise to play along with the ceremony, but the deception was exposed as his men attacked the stronghold.

• Shen Zhi identified Shen Yangge as the Crown Prince, and the bandits seized him and took him to their stronghold.
• The second chief declared Shen Yangge his stronghold bride and ordered preparations for their wedding.
• The bandits dressed Shen Yangge in red wedding robes and bound him for the ceremony.
• Chu Xuanzhen secretly joined Shen Yangge at the wedding and told him to stall while his men arrived.
• As Chu Xuanzhen carried Shen Yangge toward the bridal chamber, an arrow knocked away Shen Yangge's veil and someone announced that the second chief was dead.
• Chu Xuanzhen set Shen Yangge down, removed his disguise, and drew his sword as the bandits prepared to seize them.

Chu Xuanzhen and Shen Yangge defeated the bandits at Yong'an Stronghold, but an archer’s ambush left Chu Xuanzhen demanding to know who had touched Shen Yangge. Chu Xuanzhen ordered the guilty bandits executed and dragged Shen Yangge toward a bamboo house.

• Chu Xuanzhen fought the Yong'an Mountain Bandits while Shen Yangge stayed close to him, until Chu Xuanzhen’s guards arrived and subdued them.
• Shen Yangge spotted arrows aimed at Chu Xuanzhen and knocked him aside; Chu Xuanzhen shielded Shen Yangge, then killed the hidden archer with a concealed weapon.
• Shen Yangge revealed that Chu Xuanzhen was the Crown Prince, and Chu Xuanzhen ordered the chief and the other guilty bandits punished or killed.
• Chu Xuanzhen asked who had touched Shen Yangge in Yong'an Stronghold, and Shen Yangge said he remembered the second-in-command touching him.
• Chu Xuanzhen seized Shen Yangge by the nape and ordered his subordinates to execute everyone in the stronghold who had killed someone before taking Shen Yangge to a bamboo house.

Chu Xuanzhen examined Shen Yangge’s injuries, then showed him the tortured second-in-command before carrying him down the mountain. At the foot of the mountain, Shen Yangge challenged Shen Zhi for trying to get Chu Xuanzhen killed, and Chu Xuanzhen withdrew his promise to spare him until Lingnan.

• Chu Xuanzhen stripped Shen Yangge to inspect his injuries, then covered him in one of his own robes and told him to cooperate with Physician Liu’s treatment.
• Chu Xuanzhen showed Shen Yangge the mutilated second-in-command, who was still alive in a barrel.
• Shen Yangge stayed silent on the descent, and Chu Xuanzhen caught him when he stumbled before carrying him down the mountain.
• At the foot of the mountain, Shen Zhi demanded priority treatment, and Shen Yangge accused him of trying to get Chu Xuanzhen killed.
• Chu Xuanzhen said he had planned to keep Shen Zhi alive until Lingnan, but now saw no reason to do so.

Shen Yangge rejected the Shen family’s pleas for mercy and left Shen Zhi to face the Crown Prince’s command. His touch starvation flared as he brushed Chu Xuanzhen’s hand, and Chu Xuanzhen followed him into the carriage and reached for his neck.

• Shen Zhi begged Chu Xuanzhen to spare him and urged the Shen family to kneel, then tried to bargain with an offer of lodging in Lingnan.
• Shen Zhi invoked his fatherhood to demand that Shen Yangge plead for him, but Shen Yangge reminded him that he had disowned him and struck his name from the family genealogy.
• Shen Susu offered to serve Chu Xuanzhen in exchange for her father’s life, but Chu Xuanzhen ignored her and ordered the guards to drag Shen Zhi away.
• Shen Rongfei asked Shen Yangge to plead for their father, but Shen Yangge refused and left, saying he had no ties to the Shen family.
• Shen Yangge’s touch starvation began to flare, and he accidentally brushed Chu Xuanzhen’s hand as he passed him.
• Chu Xuanzhen followed Shen Yangge into the carriage and reached for his neck.